Posts Tagged ‘lulzsec’

Hacktivist groups Anonymous and TeaMpOisoN have joined forces in a bid to transfer funds from powerful corporations into the pockets of non-profit institutions. PoisAnon, as the cyber-coalition is now known, has already begun operations with breaches into two American banks.

Sure, PoisAnon might seem like a criminal enterprise, and I suppose it is. But banks and corporations have been stealing from the public for decades with little to no accountability. So it only seems fair that the wealth and power these mega-institutions have amassed gets redistributed amongst the bulk of the people.

Of course, the ultimate goal of Operation Robin Hood should be to legitimize a more egalitarian economic model. Instead of being perpetrated by a rag-tag bunch of cyber-protesters, our governments and elected leaders should be the ones mandating a more just system. And one way to make that happen is with the collective noise made by the shouts of millions of angry citizens.

The astute among you will have noted that this is precisely what the Occupy protests are doing right now. While there are potentially years of work left to do, once the people’s uprising comes to fruition, our world’s economic and political systems will have internalized a healthy respect for the wishes of the general population.

And why not redistribute some of the world’s wealth?

Suppose we were to agree upon an upper limit for profits earned by corporations. So, for example, instead of earning $20 Billion in annual profits, oil giant Shell could only earn up to a maximum of $5 Billion, with the rest being distributed democratically according to the will of the people. (Of course, such a plan would have to be enforced globally so that corporations can’t just weasel their way into another jurisdiction.)

If we managed to do this, do you think the whole company would just up and cease working? Probably not, although with less intense pressure to perform, CEO’s might not resort to such egregious and unethical behavior.

It is great to see some of the world’s brightest and technically proficient minds taking on the role of planetary freedom fighter. Edmond Burke once remarked that ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing,’ and as long as we have brave souls willing to stand up for what is right, the world will never succumb to the forces of tyranny.

The captivating News of the World hacking scandal – the one that is causing more heads to roll by the hour – shows us exactly why we need transparency throughout the system. Inherent corruption can only survive when shrouded in secrecy and silence, and when you expose it to the world, the injustice ends.

The entire global system could use an infusion of transparency, not just for governments, but for all giant, powerful institutions: multinational corporations, religious institutions, and major industries (especially the Military Industrial Complex).

If all of these organizations had their darkest secrets revealed to the world, there would be an uproar, and heads would literally roll. Fortunately for our world’s tyrants and oligarchs, the transition to a transparent system will likely stay as it has been – a gradual process.

But with the wheels already in motion, and groups like Wikileaks and Lulzsec leading the way, we’re heading towards a future where the whole world has been opened up.

This will likely mean a more just civilization for all humans to enjoy. Hooray!

Meanwhile, cyber-activist group Anonymous has continued their online protests, disabling government web pages, like those of Spain and Turkey, whose authoritative actions warranted scorn from the loosely connected freedom alliance.

All these cyber-demonstrations highlight the force of an unfettered internet. The balance of power is shifting away from institutions and governments, and into the hands of the masses.

And this is precisely what the oligarchs and dictators fear the most. Feeling their tenuous grip over the population slipping away, they’ll do anything to prevent the new cyber-democracy from developing.

They’ll tell us that we need to crack down on hackers and cyber-activists to protect us. They’ll try to pass broad regulatory bills that give certain government bodies sweeping control over the Internet.

Once they discover that there is no effective way to stop the free flow of information, they might even try to kill the Internet completely.

But we cannot let them succeed. We won’t let them. The Internet is too vital a tool for the creation of a more just civilization. Social media and instant interconnection are giving humankind the power to reclaim control of the planet.